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| Reviewed by: David Rudy 24 Dec 2003 I-Ninja (Xbox)
| |  David Rudy & Patrick O'Keefe
Ever wonder what a midget ninja would be like, well I-Ninja, is the closest thing you are going to get. This game features a berserk height challenged ninja going around and chopping up bad guys. You actually start out this game by killing a few enemies (in a demo mind you), and then stabbing this giant lizard at the back of the neck. Now please note that the cinema here is all in game action footage. Either way you get this orb which drives your character insane, and he accidentally kills his sensei. So now you have the ghost of your master guiding you on this quest to collect these rage orbs before all hell breaks loose, and evil triumphs. In each stage you have missions you must complete, and upon completing each mission you get a medal to earn a higher level ninja belt. But make no mistakes for a ninja game you are filled with Three Stooges type slapstick throughout.
So the graphics for the XBOXís capability is slightly underwhelming. With all the power the XBOX has, it doesnít really seem like I-Ninja took advantage of any of it. The graphics for the character models only look slightly better than that which was debuted on the Nintendo 64. The backgrounds are however much better than that of the character designs. The backgrounds, were innovative, colorful, and looked overall very sharp. I would have to say the arenas you fight in are a cross between a Super Mario brothers environment as they seem slightly childish, but yet has a Metroid Prime type of feel. The camera has its bad moments, but then again, what game now a days doesnít have the occasional camera problem. However one thing very nice is the framerate, which makes the animations in the game seem flawless. On each different level you will get unique environments just like in the typical Mario Bros-esque type games. If you are familiar with Argonautís other games, you will see a striking similarity in visual presentation with that of another XBOX title, which wasnít received too well, Kung Fu Chaos.
Gameplay on I-Ninja was a real treat. The controls were very intuitive, and there was no need to look through an instruction manual. Of course it helps when there is an in-game tutorial as you are beginning, so that helped me get acquainted with the controls a bit faster. But for the most part you get a wide range of uses for different functions, like using your chain to swing across long jumps, or use it to hurl yourself into high speed U-turns. However fighting seems more like a button mashing fest, and not much strategy seems to go into beating enemies. Now to deviate from the normal gameplay you get to do what I like to call mini-games. For example in the first level, when you rescue the robot parts, you must roll them around. What old-school game does this remind you of one may ask, well it is strangely reminiscent of Marble Madness. Thatís right you take a giant ball and roll it through some obstacles, through gorges, you knowÖMarble Madness.
Sound quality is pretty good, as the music and voice-overs are done quite well. However even with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound, the sound affects didnít seem to carry over to this standard. Now the voice acting was quite varied with wide assortment of different characters, which helped make this game a bit more enjoyable. The background music seemed to fit well with this Mario Bros meets quirky ninja game, in that it wasnít overbearing, yet you knew it was there. It definitely feeds off this 80ís synthesizer vibe. Can you say Casio keyboard?
Overall the game is fun, if you are a slightly pubescent platformer fan. To an older more mature gamer, this probably wonít hold much interest. The game is fairly short if you are used to this type of game. There isnít much replay value to be had with this title, but it is a fun title, and is one of the best platformers on the XBOX system. If this title had a bit more mature theme, a bit more blood, harder difficulty levels, a better use of Dolby Digital, and this game would be, as they say on the streets: ìOff the hookî. This title is definitely a good one for the 8-14 range. Past that and the audience just doesnít seem to jive. However if you want a slapstick action platformer on the most powerful system on the market, look no further than I-Ninja for Microsoftís XBOX.
8/10
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Copyright (c) 2007 Rock Star Media Works, Inc. All rights reserved.
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